We're going to San Francisco in our review of Bus and Cable Car Simulator

Posted by Charlotte on the 1st of September 2011

Forget Farming Simulator's 'open island' farming, forget the unadulterated fun of Demolition Company, TML Studios have set the true benchmark of vehicular based simulators, and they've only gone and done in a true authentic open world setting; and no better than in the streets of San Francisco. So get ready to hit the streets of The City by the Bay in one of the most detailed and sophisticated bus simulators out there.

You begin your humble career with a simple diesel bus and all the ambitions in the world. A visit to the Exhibit Hall will present you with your overall goals; owning all of the unique unlockable vehicles, including the School Bus, Sightseeing Bus, Trolley Bus, Cable Car and Bendy Diesel Bus. Each vehicle isn't just a shiny new model to perform your bus route in; they all have their own unique bus routes across the city of San Francisco. To top it off, each new vehicle can be unlocked via two means; a lot of cash, or a couple of rewards.

Rewards are the game’s unique achievements system that can reward you with money, and allows you to unlock new vehicles without having to part with wads of cash. Rewards come both positively and negatively; positive rewards will get you vehicles, whereas negative rewards will hinder your chances. You can receive rewards from simple accomplishments like being extra friendly to your passengers, or seeing all of the sights in San Francisco, negative rewards will be branded onto you through bad driving, sloppy service, and leaving potential passengers behind.

The rewards system is a fantastic addition to Bus and Cable Car Simulator which makes it more of a game and less of a simulator, marrying the two in a strange deformed entity that is both a rewarding and satisfying way of progressing through the game, its also the most unique system of its kind; drowning in a sea of useless trophy achievements.

The most remarkable aspect of Bus and Cable Car Simulator is that it is an open world game of sorts; you are free to roam the city of San Francisco, use the public transport, drive to schedules across the city, and even have a nap in your apartment. Whilst this is an amazing step in simulators, it also has its limitations; much like the early 3D Grand Theft Auto games there is little interaction to be had in the city; however the mere possibilities are a fantastic step forward for the lowly regarded simulator genre.

Traffic on the streets of San Francisco is terrible, and with the amount of AI cars set high it’ll be almost impossible to keep to schedule with your bus duties. The AI is particularly good for a simulator, and cars will change lanes and actually look like they are headed somewhere. The same can be seen in the pedestrians that will cross roads, amble along the pavement, and step onto AI controlled buses. If your PC can handle it, all AI systems can be populated to the max for an almost living and breathing city. However if you wish for clear streets whilst you carry out your punctual routes, then you might just want to turn cars off.

The aspects that make Bus and Cable Car Simulator different to most sims is that there are just so many details and intricacies present that most would never even touch on. One of the most unique of them all is the fogged windows system, which will see your bus windows huff up as you drive around in the rain unless you turn your ventilation fans on. Then there’s the sound design which is all context sensitive depending on if you are inside or outside of a vehicle, and your distance, so if you like the pitter-patter of raining falling whilst you are inside a vehicle, zoom into cockpit view and you are in for a treat.

If you are striving for money over rewards then not only can you drive to schedules to earn your keep but there are also a number of extra jobs that you can perform on the side; including maintenance on broken down buses, replacing old timetables at bus stops, bringing fuel to another driver, and even taking over a service. Aside from spending your money on new vehicles and spare parts, there is a wealth of options to waste your money on including a vast array of sunglasses, a less run-down apartment, and new and exciting cars.

Unfortunately to those simulator fans that are hanging onto their old PC’s, Bus and Cable Car Simulator really needs a mid to high end PC to really appreciate it, and most importantly of all it needs a good Processor, I warn you now, if you attempt to play this game on a low end PC, you will be playing a mere shadow of the game that you could be playing.

What makes Bus and Cable Car Simulator even better than Grand Theft Auto, Bus Simulator 2 and any other open world game is that you can actually jump aboard an AI driven bus, and be driven around to schedule across TML’s constructed San Francisco. In fact you can even get a little sightseeing in whilst you’re at it, and visit Fisherman’s Wharf, Union Square, The Golden Gate Bridge, and the Transamerica Pyramid to name a few of the locations ingame.

Bus and Cable Car Simulator is not just a pretty face too; containing over 8 classes of vehicle, each of which has its own handling system which ensures that you won’t get the same experience from a Cable Car or a Diesel Bus. Not only do they handle different but each vehicle is also highly detailed with their own personal dashboards, buttons, working dials and lights to inform you exactly what your bus is doing whilst you are driving it. However, the real icing on the cake is found in your vehicle maintenance; most vehicles can suffer commonplace faults such as broken fan belts and blown fuses, to fix these you can either call in support from your headquarters, or fix it yourself, and we aren’t talking a couple of mouse clicks!

If you liked punching tickets in Bus Simulator 2, then you’re going to love the bus interaction required of Bus and Cable Car Simulator. Each passenger will board, say hello –if they’re in a good mood- you can say hello back, you then have to type the required money on the cash register for the fare that they owe. But it’s not that straightforward, because you’ve five different fare groups to remember across 3 different lines, and although you cannot alter your fares, there’s a lot of variation in the routes that you’ll be driving.

There's just so many other features that we haven't even hinted at, like the dynamic weather system that range's from a calm summers day, drizzle or gale-force winds to true torrential rain. Or the unique compressed air system that is as true as possible to the real-world counterparts. Then there's the realtime soiling on your bus, that will get your vehicle dirty over time; requiring a nip into the nearest car wash. Not to mention the factor that your avatar is not superman, and needs to sleep or you'll find yourself nodding off at the wheel. TML have taken so many small concepts into consideration, it is astounding.

Just like TML Studios’ last game; World of Subways London Underground, Bus and Cable Car Simulator San Francisco is a shining example of what they hold important in a simulator; graphics to excel that of most mid budget titles and the intricacy and detail to sustain even the most demanding of simulation fans. Once you've played Bus and Cable Car Simulator, you won't ever look at another second-rate sim in the same way.

If you like your simulators large in scope; practically endless and full of intricate details and obscurities that a true enthusiast will appreciate then Bus and Cable Car Simulator is going to knock your socks off. Fans of Bus Simulator 2, prepare to be blown away.

Bus and Cable Car Simulator San Francisco is available September 9th in all good retailers for the SRP of £24.99, you can currently pre-order it on the Excalibur Publishing website.

Unfortunately, because the game poses such a different game experience on a minimum spec system, I had to give Bus and Cable Car a slightly lower score, however if you do play it on a mid-high end system, then it is most certainly 5/5 material, simulator fans will not know where to begin with this fantastic game, and it is most definitely worth the price tag.

Ah Joe, I was waiting for you to arrive on here :) The game should be compatible with steering wheels, however there isn't an extensive list.

I have read that there is issues with combined pedals, and you will have to turn these off on your computer's steering wheel settings.

There is a demo that you could try out with your steering wheel, it would also be a good idea to try the demo out before you buy it anyway, because it didn't run very well on my PC, I had to play it on my sister's.

You can download the demo here I recommend the game highly, but if you're computer has trouble running it, it is nowhere near as fun :(.

Hi John, this is one of my favourite parts of the game. If you look in your bus, or in the manual there is a fare tier for different typea of passengers. Most will fall under the standard rate, which I think was $2. If the passenger requires a different fair these are priced differently.

If you want to find how much they cost, its best to consult the manual, because certain routes should charge more. Don't worry, it doesn't take long to memorise the price structure :)

The fare is entered via the keypad of the cash register. Confirm by clicking "#" with the mouse.
By the way: click the "F6" key on the keypad to display the total amount registered. Subsequently
click the "F6" key to return to input mode.

What do you do after you come out of the flat? I did drive all the way to the Bus Depot once but the game crashed when I got there the game crashed :¬(. Plus it took about 10 mins as well. Is this really necessary? (I have the full game)

darth layto Check the audio.
Jordon keep trying it will work at one point
Adam you go inside your car press n and pick the depot you want to go to. go inside the depot check alla the rooms till you find a guy the click on him and get the bus route u already have a bus when u start the game

i need help, im trying to create my own route following the maual instructions but i cant find the map that gives you all the bus stop numbers so i cant continue with the schedule editor, do you know where i can find the map required as i have found everything else but!!!!!

just try it for a while or send an email to tml or excalibur publishing they will help i had the same prob but they helped but every pc is different I did not press enough and the mouse setting were not calibrated

My son has been playing bus and cable car simulator San Francisco pc for a few weeks and never had a problem exiting the flat! Then suddenly he would try to exit the flat and nothing would happen when he clicks on exit flat . Can't work out why. Have downloaded the game again to start again and still the same. It's not the mouse or batteries as it still works on everything else, just not the exit flat . Can y ou please help . Thanks Denise

Dustin: I am unsure why this would not be possible to change, on my PC I have the game set to the lowest settings, and I can still turn the mirrors on, sorry. You could always try downloading the latest update.

Marquis: You can download the keyboard layout here, unfortunately there are no wheelchairs in the game, and the game comes with a schedule wizard that allows you to set up your own routes, you can find it in the Bin folder of the installation route.

Joe: Unfortunately there is not a psd available despite what the schedule wizard's manual says, there is a clear JPG version that you can download one from TML's website though.

Brendan: Unfortunately noone has made a map for the places of interest, perhaps I should do this at some point, because a lot of people request it. Perhaps if I have some time this weekend I may give it a go.

hey I have a 2.3 ghz processor with AMD graphics and 64-bit system how can I make the game go faster and when I get in the car I can drive I press the accerate button but it don't work what should I do? please help

In order to drive you've got to turn the engine on with E, take the Handbreak off with Tab and You may have to switch up a gear with PgUp I can't remember if you have to shift gear or not. If you're experiencing bad slowdown, TML produced a couple of screenshots of how to change your graphics settings for the best performance.

You have got to drive around a heck of a lot, I know Joe was aiming for this, not sure if he got it, you just basically have to stick to driving around as much as possible. If anyone has unlocked it, do tell how many kilometres you need to drive to get it!

Apologies David E, I have asked the developers of the game about the maps, as the only ones they provide on their website is a clear jpg, and they do not seem to have the bus Stop IDs maps anymore, hopefully I'll get a reply, if I do I'll post it up here ASAP!

Brendan if anything it will be for a voice calling out the bus stops for passengers, thats how its worked in previous games. Never touched the button myself though so I can't vouch for that being solid fact!

Eeeek :( I would ask TML on Facebook, they make the game, and if they don't get back quick enough, a reinstallation may be your only option. I asked them a question yesterday and they got back within a couple of hours.

Your save data should be stored in your Documents folder under \BusCableCarSimulator hopefully you can keep that and use it so you don't lose your data if you do install it again.

ok and can tell me how to change the sign to out of service and if there more signs that i dont know about tell me!! and what do a fan belt to a bus speed it up or somthing?! and how i use the fanbelt?!

I've got everything on low, and it plays alright, get a little juddery if theres too much on screen, but my PC is built to travel around, so its not got a very high spec.

If you're on Windows 7 the installation folder will be

C:\Program Files (x86)\BusCableCarSimulator

Considering that the game is german, I don't know why you are seeing chinese anywhere, if you can't find the folder just search your computer for Manual_ScheduleWizzard for how to make a bus route. Or Manual for the game's manual.

and I'm confused to make a route how do I save it and when I did I did not see in the routes selections in the game and what do it means when it says way point route id number and stuff because I'm tryin to make a route number 21 replacing the 90 route number

I was just wondering if anybody knew how many kilometres I have to drive in the Diesel bus to get the "Let the Diesel Smoke" achievement and how many kilometres I need to travel to get the "Drive like a maniac" achivement.

and I was also wondering if I'm out in the middle of no where and the bus brakes down I have no gas or no fanbelt would I do can I do just call somebody to come and fix in case I dont wanna fix iy myself?

Hi Cameron, not sure to be fair, there may be a radio that you can turn on in the truck, otherwise, never remember hearing any music in the game!

Hi Ravesh, yes, if the game runs really slow, unfortunately you are going to have to turn your settings down. The developers have screenshots to show you how to get the best performance on your PC here and here.

One again, I was just wondering about how many kilometres I have to drive in the Diesel bus to get the "Let the Diesel Smoke" achievement and how many kilometres I need to travel to get the "Drive like a maniac" achivement.

so Marquis, the probable reason of the game going slow when it hits night is because it's rendering all those street lights which your computer is having trouble coping with, and I believe in order to change route you have to return to the garage.

Peter, no unfortunately not, this is a light hearted simulator, you cannot kidnap people :) although I suppose you could simulate Speed, but your bus wont explode when you fall below 50 mph although, and your passengers probably wouldnt mind that you are taking them off route :D

On my PC which is a very modest PC, the game runs alright, but has to be played on the lowest settings, I had to play it on our editor's PC on which it played perfectly.

It probably took about 10 minutes to install I don't remember I was sent the review copy a long time ago, which was installed from a disc.

I am running an AMD Phenom X2 555, what really drags me down is my Radeon 5570, as I stated in the review, and have mentioned countless times in comments is this game requires a very very good computer to run it properly, if your PC is not a high spec, it will have trouble when playing the game.

like im sayin when u had the case did it came with a booklet and do the case was in a box and what is our editors pc?? and i have a AMD ATHLON 64x2 dual core processor 3800+ with a geforce 8600 gts graphics card but i found out that i have a fake cheap game that why it not workin right and always force closes and crash

and is it true that they have some cheap copies with bad software cause the one I get keep skipping and I had met the requirements so a computer tech told me that the software on the disk is bad and when I download the demo it go real slow but on the disk it fast

Who was this computer tech? Because games rarely run on disks these days, I am an avid PC gamer, and as I keep saying Bus & Cable Car Simulator requires a very high spec pc, simply meeting the minimum requirements will not allow you to play the game perfectly.

To get good performance I was playing the game on a quad core machine, the game does not require a good graphics card to play, but a powerhouse of a processor, back on the old forums for Bus & Cable car there were threads upon threads of people discussing performance issues. I mentioned in the review that you need a good pc to play the game propely and I still stick by it.

I just got the game but I have a major problem which is I can't steer left or right using the keyboard arrows. Have contacted Excalibur but haven't responded in over 2 weeks!
Can someone PPPLLLEEEEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSEEEEEE help me!

GamerNoob, I've never heard of any problem like that before! I don't want to make you sound like a noob, but you've taken the handbreak off and shifted the gear up right? You can accelerate and break I take it, just not steer :/

I have already taken the handbrake off and shifted the gear up and done everything required but the steering still doesn't work. The lights, the accerlerate and brake work and the engine and everthing works but the steering doesn't.

I have a joystick, a printer and a webcam plugged in. I'm not sure if this would affect the game.

Alright so the onboard computer can be a little daunting at first, but it's actually pretty straightforward :)

So when you first get in your bus you press I to see it, before you start your route you are advised to set it to 'Not in Service' this can be done by pressing 'Route' '99', and then 'Enter'.

So, when you want to put your route into the Computer, select 'Line', then put in your three digit line number, then press 'Enter' then you'll need to enter your route number, so press 'Route' and then the two digit number, then press 'Enter'

Hi again Marquis, I'm sorry but I do not know what the problem with your game is, I'm just a fan and general PC gamer, if you have problems you should contact the developers TML Studios like I said originally!

Does any one know how to exit flat. Have tried before and always worked , now doesn't work anymore .have sent an email to TML. So hope they reply but meanwhile can anyone ppppppllllllllllleeeeeeeeaaaaaassssseeee help. Thanks , denise

Hi guys
i've got a problem where my camera view is stuck on mirror mode and i can't get it off and when i try to change the controls for a certain action i click on it and it just comes up with Y axis
Can anyone help pls?

After a lot of saving I finally bought the cable car and was happy to drive it, until....
I took a route with many cable car crossings, and everytime I go across such a xing, it makes a terrible crashing sound, I get the message that I didn't release the cable in time, and I get a $1000 fine. The manual isn't clear about it at all, and I tried several times to get across a xing, but everytime I get the crashing sound, the message and a $1000 fine. I'm now $11000 in the red, so that kind of takes the fun out of it.
I don't know what to do. The leverage sometimes is set back and on other tracks it is set to front. Changing it (arrow up and down) while going across the xing doesn't help. Still get the fine.
How can I cross a cable car crossing? Please help...

having trouble installing the game on my windows xp xp3. this is all i get from the game. this application has failed to start because the application is incorrect. re-installing this application may fix the problem. tried it and it doesn't work, am i doing something wrong?

Oh no? Really Nicholas, I never personally encountered this issue in San Fran, found it a few times in Euro Bus Simulator 2, unfortunately the only way to remedy it I believe it to start the route again :(

charlotte I have found out how to fix the mirrors al you have to do is at the start when it says new game or continue game click settings then click graphics then you can change what ever you want without it being blacked out so just click on mirrors on then the mirrors will be on but you can only change this then when the game starts you cant cause its blanked out try it it worked for me

Thanks and just have 2 more things how do you get external view of the bus cause I don't know how when I look on you tube I see every one can see the bus from the out side. Every time it gets dark and the street lights come onthe game lags so much is there anyway to stop this

Roiz i have a logitech driving force gt wheel that goes 900 degress but in the game only goes 200 degress but it still works. the other logitech wheels dont work because of the gear pedale and gear shift. hope this works.

Charlotte is their any way of making the logitech driving force gt can go 900 degress and not 200 degress please help.

how do you get external view of the bus cause I don't know how when I look on you tube I see every one can see the bus from the out side. Every time it gets dark and the street lights come onthe game lags so much is there anyway to stop this

3 questions
1 why is my game so slow i run it on windows xp
2 if u have the demo then how do u save it cause i always start and then get so far but then when i quit then go back i have to restart all over again
3 where can i find the full game for download for free

Hey Matthew Press the F4 button, you may have the bus lifted wont go any faster than 15 miles an hour. I've found caps at Treasure Island at the end of the dead end. Also front of the Pyramid building and on top of the Hill at the end of Lombard Street. I've also found one at the Beginning of the Cable car entry.

Hi everybody i just bought this game and
Im wondering why when im accelerating the bus it is so slow and thts when im using the keys now my second question is this I bought a steering wheel gt force ferrrari steering wheel that came with pedals but is not working im not sure if i need to go into the game system to do somthing if some one could please help me out with this

marius I have the same steering wheel all I did is went into settings clicked acelerate and pressed the pedal for it do that alot of times and the sign would say acelarate not combined pedals as for quentin do the same thing that I told Marius to do and for the bus slowing down try see if the lifting is on if it is turn it off. Merry christmas and a happy new year

In the settings for left and right is the steering wheel set and Quentin depends the time of day and traffic can be poor in the city check beside the highway or do route 900 and seee id traffic is bad or good.

hi can any one tell me how to stop this game from doing the anoying exe crash i am running high spec like 4gb ram 2gb memory graphics crad and a mother board that is less than 2 years old but i am running a 10-11 year old version of xp with sp3

Can someone can tell me why games crashes in various of places in the game like Union Square, South of Market area and driving a trolleybus a few blocks from South of Market bus depot and also Pacific Heights neighborhood and my laptop computer is set on low setting. And two where is the Lighthouse at in Treasure Island

Hi all, I have problem in the game Bus cable car simulator. - I play this game, and a fev minits this game have to stopped working. Exist repair patch for only problem for free download? please ask me.

uhm so im on the bus already...
my prob is about the passengers.
some pay the fare but few doesn't
they just say "hi driver" then past thru me and sit in the bus.
am i doing wrong here or is it part of the game?
or is there something i can do bout it?
please help me..
i can't find any other forum about this game, and i don't know who to ask..

Hi,
I am trying to play Bus- Cable- Car Simulator DEMO. But, when I start a new game it won't start. Then I get a message: ERROR: Render format target not supported. What can I do? I have Windows 8.1 and I don't know what I need to do. I am sorry for my bad English, I am from Holland ;). Hope to hear from someone soon.
Greetz

I know these comment is old but when i play the game it goes slow and when i get to certain parts of the city the game just shuts off and for world of subways vol it just goes slow i think that any game made by tml studios is no good cus they say its good 4 windows 7 but only for a certain type of computer and they need to say thr type of computer its shoen on so if people look at it they can know but now i will never buy a game made by them any more cus its just waist of miney so people jus dnt buy unless u got windows 8 cus its for windows 7 but for certain computer because i dnt want to play on low details i want high deatails i tried to play it on a a pc with monitor a laptop and a pc without monitor and same thing keeps happening goes slow and shuts off

What is wrong with this game? I have tried to get out the flat or something to happen with clicking left mouse. but nothing happens. I can tell you that after 2 weeks trying this game is not working at all. What should I do??? Help me please

I have had this game for a couple months but have been unable to enjoy the game because the video does not match up with the audio. Its like the video is in slow motion. i thought maybe it was just the game itself so i purchased Train Simulator 2014 and i am experiencing the same problems! Can someone please help me out??????

No more Charlotte comments. For those of you all stuck in the flat. use the (ASDWX) keys to walk around. I use the "A" key for forward and then I use the mouse to turn in the direction I wish to walk. Walk to the door next to the refrigerator and then press any mouse button preferably the right to exit.

Hi Charlotte, please help I went onto the TML support site under links to find the id stop maps and when i clicked on it, it comes up saying file has been moved and there is nothing to download, what should i do to get this info

Can anyone send me the file for the san Francisco map with the bus stop numbers? I tried to download it from TML Studio's site but it looks like its no longer available. I don't even think they support the game anymore. I cant find those maps for the schedule wizard anywhere else.

your game is the worst game ever on my window 7 computer every time I buy a fuck an cable car it bloody crashes fix this game please or make a new one cause its getting on people nerves plus I do really like this game but is annoying when it crashes just saying but don't take this the wrong way just try you hardest thank you for reading this letter